


In Good Hands

by B_Frizzy



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Fluff, Immaturity, M/M, No Gay Panic, No Smut, Pre-Relationship, Pre-Slash, boys who wear makeup, excessive instagram descriptions, honestly just a lot of fluffiness, mentions of drinking, nursey wears makeup, post dib flip
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-03
Updated: 2018-08-03
Packaged: 2019-06-21 07:09:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,464
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15552363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/B_Frizzy/pseuds/B_Frizzy
Summary: Dex goes looking for chirping material on Nursey.Instead he finds... Nursey's makeup Instagram?





	In Good Hands

**Author's Note:**

> A huuuuuge thank you to Den and AK for being the biggest enablers in the world.

It started out as a joke, another thing for Dex to use against Nursey in their back and forth chirping-flirting-whatever it was they had. He overheard Nursey asking Bitty questions about running a vlog one day, and he knew right then that it would be perfect. It would give him all the ammo he ever needed. 

It took more time for Nursey to actually start recording videos than he expected. But eventually  he noticed their bedroom door being locked more often, and then that their room was being kept cleaner on a regular basis. That could only mean that Nursey was filming in there (because really, could you expect the dude with a loogie spot in the locker room to keep his room clean? really?). 

It took even longer for Nursey to leave Dex in the room alone with his laptop for enough time to snoop. Stressed because of the upcoming game with Harvard, Bitty had somehow forgotten to pick up butter on his last stop-n-shop visit, and volunteered Nursey (who had eaten the last slice of pie) to get more. Dex waited until he heard the door slam before he even gave a second thought to opening Nursey’s laptop.

Once he was sure he was in the clear, though, he was across the line they had taped across their floor after week one of living together (which had been promptly ignored week two, day one), and opened Nursey’s stupidly, unnecessarily expensive laptop (seriously, he was an English major, why did he need so much processing power?). 

It was like Nursey wasn’t even trying to hide it. He hadn’t even closed his browser. Dex quickly scanned past the tabs that looked like they were homework related, about seven different tabs of makeup products (Dex really didn’t want to know), and finally clicked to the social media pages open at the end. He didn’t think he would find anything on Nursey’s facebook, since they were friends there, and he wasn’t really sure how tumblr worked, so he clicked on Instagram first.

The team liked to joke that Dex had taken over Jack’s mantle as the team dad; yeah, he liked older music, but he actually did know a little about social media. He spent half his time in a computer lab, he couldn’t be that out of touch with what was happening online. 

The page was already clicked to Nursey’s profile, probably so that he could make sure that he wasn’t losing followers every few minutes, the arrogant ass. His name was “Derek_RN”. Dex didn’t bother looking at his profile picture, just scrolled down to the first video and clicked play. He could see from the screen capture that there was someone else with him, which made Dex curious. Who knew about the account? Was it someone on the team? And if that was the case, why did they know if Dex didn't?

The video started on Nursey by himself. He was sitting in their bedroom by himself, and there was music going in the background. “Sup, everyone, I have a very special guest with me today!” There was a bit of a scuffle, and then Nursey pulled Ransom in from the side of the frame. “This is my main man Justin, in town for just two days! We are pre-gaming the post-game party, and Justin agreed to do a little demo for me, because look at these fucking cheekbones, amiright?”

Ransom, Holster, and Lardo all managed to make it back to Samwell two weeks ago for one of the most epikegsters that Dex had ever witnessed. He hadn’t pulled Nursey duty for the first time in forever, so he actually got to enjoy getting fucked up with everyone, and honestly couldn’t remember much about the night at all. He definitely didn’t notice Ransom and Nursey disappearing together for long enough to film some kind of video together. And what the fuck did Ransom’s cheekbones have to do with anything?

It was clear that they were already a couple drinks in, because Nursey was fumbling with stuff on his desk more than usual. Ransom giggled when he dropped something. 

“Okay, okay! Alright, so… Oh! I forgot my intro. Sup, this is Derek, your makeup RN and today we’re gonna be doing a quick tip on highlighting. Justin has some seriously unfair skin and fucking gorgeous eyes, so all we’re gonna do is highlight these cheekbones and make his oblivious not-boyfriend drool.”

Dex cut off the video as Ransom was shoving at a giggling Nursey. He slowly scrolled through the rest of the posts on the account. They were a pretty even combination of still pictures and videos, all of them with Nursey in makeup. It… wasn’t the chirping material that Dex thought he was going to find.

It was beautiful.

It wasn’t like Dex hadn't known that he was attracted to Nursey. He had his gay panic way back in middle school, and fully planned on enjoying college the same way every allosexual queer boy from a small town did. That plan was promptly ruined, of course, by Nursey (as always), who was not only the most gorgeous human he had ever seen, but who could push his buttons and rile him up in a way that made him hot (in every definition of the word).

Before that moment, Dex would have said that the most beautiful Nursey could ever be was when he thought nobody was watching him on the ice, when he closed his eyes and Dex knew that he was imagining himself floating across the ice in that unique sensation you just couldn't get anywhere else. It was one of the only times Nursey truly looked comfortable in his skin and forgot to layer on the varnish of fake chill. 

But there was one picture…Nursey was sitting on the reading room with his head tilted back against the Haus. Behind him, the sky was painted in a beautiful blaze of oranges and pinks as the sun set. He had put something on his cheeks to make them look like they were painted in bronze, like his nose had been meticulously sculpted until it was the perfect angle. And he had done something to his eyes. There were dark smudges lining his eyes, and a bit of gold right at the corner that made them look more green than Dex had ever seen them.

Dex could admit that he knew nothing about makeup. He was never one of those kids who watched their mom apply it in the mirror, he never paid attention to his sisters going through their own makeup phases, and he was never curious to look at packaging at a drugstore. He couldn’t even begin to name any of the things that Nursey had on in that picture, but he knew that it was… absolutely perfect.

Nursey was radiating the same comfort and ease that he did in those quiet moments on the ice, but there was something more to it. With skating and hockey, there was always motion and energy, an understanding that those quiet moments were only stolen between extreme effort and grit.

Dex could almost feel himself in the moment of that picture with Nursey, in a series of moments, lost in hours as the sun set and the world grew quiet around them, and they existed, just the two of them, for as long as they wanted. He had sat in exactly that spot with Nursey more times that he could count, and he had never seen such a serene expression on Nursey’s face. 

And he had never noticed how… beautiful the angles of his face were, either. And how much he wanted to spend those silent moments with Nursey. It wasn’t a matter of physical or sexual attraction. Dex wanted to be the one to be on the other side of the camera, who Nursey was comfortable enough to let his guard around like that. He wanted to learn what it was Nursey was wearing in that picture, just because it could bring attention to every beautiful part that Dex wanted to kiss. And hell, Dex wanted to be the one in that first video he watched, tipsy and shoving at Nursey while he tried to put makeup on his face, because that was what Nursey loved, and Dex wanted to be a part of it.

It wasn’t physical or sexual. Dex had a big, mean, full on crush. 

Dex didn’t realize how lost he got in thought. He didn’t notice the sound of the front door opening and closing, or Nursey and Bitty’s conversation, or even the near-elephant levels of noise Nursey usually made coming up the stairs. He didn’t hear a sound at all until Nursey was opening their bedroom door.

There was no way to hide the fact that he had been at Nursey’s desk, on his computer. And given his slow response, it was probably likely that even if he closed the laptop, Nursey would see what he was doing even before Dex could get a lie out about needing to borrow it for homework. 

Dex considered lying anyway, for a second. It wouldn’t be the first (or last) time that they obviously lied to each other’s faces. But the expression on Nursey’s face told him that that would be a very bad move. There wasn’t any teasing, it almost looked like he was bracing himself for a blow. 

It was… more than a little disheartening. Dex had hoped by now that he had proved to the team that their assumptions about him, that he was closed minded and homophobic, had been wrong. He felt like he was fighting a losing battle trying to make his place on the team for the first year and a half because of his stupid, unfounded reputation (all because of a sticker? seriously?). It was their junior year now, and he had more than proved himself, but he saw how members of the team shielded themselves around him when they thought something would be a little too… “alternative” for him. A little too different. A little too queer. 

He hated it.

Nursey paused in the doorway, then slowly stripped off his jacket and tossed aside his snapback onto his bed. “Using my laptop without permission, Dex? Pretty unchill for a dude who didn’t talk to me for two weeks last time I did that.”

“Jesus, Nurse, that was because you spilled a full fucking frappe on it! It’s not about -- you know what, no. We had this fight already, I’m not paying fine for Bitty’s stupid no having the same fight twice rule.” Dex had to admit though, that rule had saved him a lot of headaches this semester.

Nursey rolled his eyes, but didn’t try to keep talking. Instead, he crossed the room and leaned over Dex, crossing into his personal space. He made direct eye contact while he reached over and slammed his laptop closed (a little too hard for Dex’s comfort). Dex was pretty sure it was supposed to be intimidating, or at the very least, serious -- a message to him to stay out of Nursey’s shit (which he no doubt deserved). 

But all Dex could focus on was the spicy scent of Nursey’s cologne, the gingery one that he only wore in the fall months (because Nursey was the kind of guy who coordinated his cologne to the seasons, apparently). And how soft his blue sweater looked, how perfect it must be to hug. And the subtle hints of makeup right along his eyelashes (Dex was almost positive that was eyeliner). It made Nursey’s eyes beautiful. Nursey was beautiful. 

Dex wanted to tell him that. He also didn’t want to get punched, though. So, he waited until Nursey had taken his laptop to the other side of his room and had climbed up onto his bunk.

“You’re really pretty. In your pictures. With makeup… I mean, and without it, too. You’re very pretty. And handsome. A pretty, handsome, attractive, beautiful man.”

Dex could feel his entire face flaming. He wanted to bury his head in his hands. He was pretty sure that he could feel Nursey staring at him, but he didn’t dare look at him to find out. Instead, he just sat in misery waiting for Nursey to yell at him for making fun of something he really cared about.

Nursey didn’t yell, though. He started laughing. He laughed so hard that Dex could hear the bunks rocking, and something clatter off of his bed to the floor. Dex barely had time to look up to see Nursey throw a pillow at his head.

“Oh my god, you fucking dork, Dex. weren’t you named after William Shakespeare? And that’s how you try to woo me? ‘You’re a pretty, handsome, attractive, beautiful man’? Jesus christ, no wonder you never try to wheel at kegsters.”

Dex threw the pillow back at him, face still burning. “Fuck off, Nurse, I never should have told you that my mom was an English major. Take the compliment or don’t.”

Nursey slid off his bunk with surprising grace. Their bedroom wasn’t big, no more than a dozen steps across, but the way Nursey walked them made Dex’s mouth go dry. There was that self-confidence that looked like it matched his expression in the picture. 

He stopped in front of Dex, crowding so close that Dex had to open his knees wide to make room for Nursey to stand between them, looking down with a grin and a half-lidded expression. And god, Dex really had to ask if that was eyeliner or what that was making his eyes look so green, because it was practically hypnotic.

“So, beautiful, huh? Are you just saying that because you have some weird kink for boys in makeup?” It sounded somewhat playful, but Dex couldn’t help but answer honestly.

“Nursey… Derek, you’re the most beautiful fucking person I’ve ever met. Always, every day of your life. Even your hung-over bedhead looks better than 75% of students on this campus.”

Nursey swallowed, the playful look replaced with slightly dazed one, as a blush spread across his cheeks. “You really think so?”

Dex reached out and linked his fingers through Nursey’s, where they brushed the arms of the chair he was sitting in. 

“Well, I would normally ask you out on a date, but I already know you hate all the restaurants in Samwell and refuse to wear your contacts so you can’t go to the movies. How about I raid Ollie and Wick’s stash of halloween candy and you teach me about what the hell highlighter is instead.”

Nursey grinned. “Yeah? You sure you know what you're getting yourself into, Poindexter?”

==

“Not even remotely. But I think I'm in good hands.”


End file.
